 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Manjiri Bhawalkar, MA, IHA, Abt Associates Inc, 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, 617-520-2918, manjiri_bhawalkar@abtassoc.com, A. K. Nandakumar, PhD, Partnerships for Health Reform, Abt Associates Inc, 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, and Jonathan Wilwerding, PhD, Abt Associates Inc., 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
This paper focuses on the variation in use of health care, out of pocket expenditures, and health insurance coverage across different demographic groups in Jordan and what factors drive this variation. The ultimate aim is to use the findings to improve effective and equitable access to health care services across Jordan. The data used for this study were collected for the Jordan Healthcare Utilization and Expenditure Survey funded by USAID. Probit models are used to estimate the probability that someone will use health care, or have health insurance. The variation in the total out of pocket expenditures is measured by using multivariate regression model. Results indicate a surprising finding, that unlike most other developing countries, access to and equity in health care are reasonably good in Jordan. Although the health care system in Jordan appears to function well overall, the vulnerable populations – elderly and uninsured poor - are at risk of both inadequate access to care and severe financial burden. Equity analysis highlights that after accounting for health expenditures there appears to be a redistribution of household rankings in the income quintiles. The vulnerable populations experience a downward income quintile shift. Another noteworthy finding is the excessive out of pocket expenditures on pharmaceuticals, which results in a burden on the population as a whole, and especially the vulnerable. Health policy recommendations include modifications of health financing to ensure equity in access to care particularly targeted towards the vulnerable population; improve its efficiency; and design a financing mechanism to purchase pharmaceuticals.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: International Health,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.